Fire escape



(No Model.)

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` FIRE ESCAPE.

No; 2921.58-25. Patented Peb...` 5', l1884.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. (3.1M. KIM.

` `IEIRB ESCAPE. Y i No. 292,825. A Patentzed Feb. 5, 1884.

(No Modell.) l v4 sheets-sneet s.

l I I GII Ml A I FIRE 'ESGAPIL No.' 292,825. v :Patented Peb. 5, 1884.

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- n f 4 snetsL-sneet 4:FV G. M.y KIM; "FIRE ESCAPE.

No, M1325. i Patented m. 5,1884.4

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f umm smears-fm oms y GEORGE M. KIM, or ALLEG'EENY, rENNsYLvANIA.

FIRE- ESCAPE SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 292,825, dated February 5, 1884. v Application filed March l, 1883. (No model.)

Similar letters of reference indicate corre.

sponding parts.

' In the accompanying drawings,.Figure l represents a side View or elevation of my fire-escape and hook-and-ladder apparatus for fires, mounted on a carriage and folded back thereon, ready to go or be drawn to aflre. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, showing the tower raised and ladder extended; view, looking from therear toward the front, the tower being raised and ladder extended; Figa is a top view'7 looking down upon the carriage. i

A A is the body of the carriage. A( is a seat for the driver. f A2 is a fire-fender on rear end of the carriage.

' A is the dash-board.

a a are carriage-wheels. a a are the brake-irons; ai, brake-rubber.- a is the brake-lever.

B B B are timbers forming the tower.

C is awater-pipe fixed to the tower, as seen4 at G2 and c.

c and c are the two branches of the pipes C at the lower end thereof, and are to afford a d'ouble connection when; being used, or but one, as desired; and when but one is used a cap will be screwed on the one not in use, as seen at cin Fig. 1. a

D is a sliding upright ladder fixed to the tower, as seen at d in Fig. l, by means of the iron slide d on both sides. This ladder D has an iron railing, D, made of one and one-fourth inch gas-pipe. This railing will be useful in going up or down the saine, especially in aiding feeble or helpless persons down.

E represents the top of the tower` It has a railing around it with an opening or gateway,

with the bottom slotted or perforated, so as not to hold water that might fall therein. D3 Dis are rounds in the ladder D2.

ladderDl is a fixed one, forinipg a portion of Fig. 3 is an endl Thisthe tower B B, and has a railing, D4, on cach side, for the same purpose as the railings on the ladder D. p

F F are housings xed to the top of the carriage, and are used to form a pivot for the timbers N N, by means of the bearings. F3 F3 ou the shaft f I A FFl are fixed housings to the carriage also, and are for the purpose of supporting the bearings or brackets F* F", fixed to the ladder D2, as seen in Fig. 1.

f2 is a shaft to support the tower-timbers D2 v by means of the bearings F'L Ftv F2 F2 are also housings fixed-to the carriage, as F Fand F F are fixed, and are to support the shaft f 3.

. F5 F5 are bearings on the timbers N N, to support the shaft J.

, F'is aphousing, the counterpart of F2 F2. FY F7 are housings to support the pulleyshaft, on which the clutches t t are mounted, as vseen in- Fig. 4.

ff are beveled cog-wheels fixed to the shaft f 2.

G G are an adjustable housing, semicircular in form, aswill be seen by reference toFig. 2, and works on the shaft f 3. By the peculiar construction of this housing, I am enabled to successfully operate the screw H,.as one end (the lower) passes through one of the prongs of this housing,` and between the other two prongsof this housingG, I place the beveled cog-wheels f f and 71, h, the latter operating to revolve the screw-shaft H.

h h and h2 if are collars on the screws H H, yto serve a well-known purpose.

At' the top of the shafts H His the crossbar J, working in the bearings F5 F5, and at either end of the bar J is thehead J', through which the shafts H H operate to move vthe same upward or downward. In this operation one of the shafts revolves to the right and ICQ Zl This screw works in its revolutions the cross-bar L, which in turn is fixed to the clevating-ladder or extension-ladder M M. The ladder M M is fixed to the cross-bar L2, and through this cross-bar the shaft or screw L works, thusraising or lowering the extensionladdcr by right or left revolutions of the screw, as will readily be seen and understood by mechanics. The upper end of the screw works loosely in the cross-bar L3 of the timbers N N.

O is a safety-line, which is fixed to the timbers N, as seen at o', and passes under the top of the tower over a friction or screw pulley, o, and is drawn down and fastened to the earriage, as -seen in Fig. 2 at O.

I is a steam-boiler placed in rear of the shaft f.

P is an engine.

l?2 is the arm operated by the engine.

P is the crank at the end of the pulleyshaft, as seen in Fig. 4.

P* are steam-pipes from the boiler to the engine, and need no description as to their functions, that being well understood, as will also the mechanism and operation of the engine.

R is a fly-wheel or balance-wheel.

S is a lever to operate the clutclrpulleys t and t.

T is a pulley on the shaft f i.

T is a pulley on the shaft f.

T3 is a band from the pulley T to the clutchpulley t, and thereis also a band from the clutchpulley t to the pulley T on the shaft f This band-operating pulley Tis the one that works the extension-ladder M by means ofthe screwshaft L and the intermediate system of cogwheel attachments, and the band T3 operates the raising and lowering at various angles of 11i-he ladder M M by means of the screw-shafts F FT are housings supporting the shaft that works the clutches t t and balaneewheel R.

F6 FG are housings for the shaft f 2.

The fire-fender A2 should be about four fcct high and made of iron.

Having thus referred to the various parts of my invention, I will now proceed to explain at some length' the leading features of the same, that those who are familiar with mechanics may understand it.

It would readily be observed that a lire-es cape apparatus with a tower built high would meet with many obstructions in our cities, from telegraph-wires, and, besides, would be dangerous to be taken rapidly from place to place, as they would readily upset; and for this reason I construct my tower so as to have it lie flat, or nearly so, on the carriage, as seen in Fig. l, and only raise it when necessary to use it at the place of fire, which raising can be done quickly by means of the screws H H, operated either by hand or steam power. If operated by hand, a crank will be put at each end of the shaft operating the pulleys t t. In

case of fires, various methods have been devised to aid persons escaping therefrom, but none of these means are free oi' danger to the escaping` party; and to remedy this defect, I furnish by my invention a means of carrying aid to persons thus circumstanced, by means of my sliding or extension ladder and hoisting-screws II H. By this means a box capable of holding five or six persons can be put close up to the escaping party, and, if necessary, as is often the case with women, children, or invalids, help can be conveyed to them, and they can be aided to get into the box l( and conveyed down to the top of the tower, and from there by way of the ladders to the ground. \Vo1nen, children, invalids, and often strong men, under great excitement incident to a fire,

cannot be trusted to operate any kind of reescape. Iartly through fear they cannot do it, as well as not understanding the mode of operation, supplemented with weakness and helplessness. By my fire-escape, I can place the box K to any third, fourth, or higher story windows, changing the angle and altitude of the ladders easily and quickly.

Sometimes in cities the telegraph-wires are in the way of .hoisting ladders; but in the operation of my fire-escape and hook-andladder apparatus but little if any difficulty in this regard will be experienced, compared with the old methods and appliances at fires, for in operating my apparatus I can place the truck or wagon at any angle across a street or parallel with it, and then if any difficulty is experienced from wires in hoisting the ladders there will be little difficulty in cutting the wires from the tower or ladder, and shears for this purpose should always be at hand. Under any such circumstances my fire-escape, &c., can be in position for work in a very few minutes.

In the construction of my fire-escape, &c., the tower should be made about thirty-five feet high from the ground, and for one of that height the truck or wagon carrying the same should be about thirty (30) feet from end to end. These proportions would allow of an extension-ladder to reach seventy-five feet from the ground. As to other proportions, the timbers N N would be forty feet and the ladder M M forty feet. Theladder D also should be forty fcetlong. The screw-shaftsH Hfrom the housing G shouldbe about twenty-live feet in length, and the screw L thirty-live feet. The tip (l should be thirty-five feet long and of ordinary hose size. The tower at the base should be eight feet and sloping to the top. where it should be four feet lengthwise, this for the width, and lengthwise the tower at the base should be twelve feet and five feet at the top, making the base of the tower eight by twelve feet and the top four by five feet. The railing around the tower should be eighteen inches high and the railing on theladdersD D should be the same. The screws II II should be made of Bessemer steel and two and a quarter inches IOO IIO

in diameter, and the thread thereon cut so as Y to make nine inches of a raise at each revolution. The screw L should also be of Bessemer steel one and three-quarters inch" in diamo: ter, and made to carry `nine inches at each revolution. The width of the ladder D2 should be four feet broad at the base and three feet at the top, and the same proportions should be observed in theladderD. Theladder M should be three and one-half feet wide. The box I( should be about three feet wide and four feet long and three feet deep.

The safety-line O may be of use in case of a break of one of the screws H, and will also be needed in folding the tower back on the truck.

In case of fires where no f1re-escape i's needed, my invention will be of use in getting water to second, third and fourth floors, as hose attached to the pipe C can easily be taken where desired by means of the ladder MM in the box K, thus conveying one or more firemen to the desired place. In case but one attachment is made to the pipe C at the bottom, a cap can be placed on the other branch. When the truck arrives at the placepof fire, the horses are unhitched.

\ 2. In a fire-'escape apparatus, the eXtensionladder M, and box K, operated by the screw L in the V-slides m m', .substanti ally as described and shown.

3. In a'iire-escape apparatus, the slidingladder D D, having the railings D D', and slides d d, xed to the tower, substantially as shown and set forth'.

4. In a fire-escape apparatus, the tower B B, the fixed ladderD2 D?, sliding ladder D D,

and guides attached to said iiXed ladder for the said sliding ladder, in combination substantially as describedV and set forth.

Y 5. In a fire-escape apparatus. the combination of theshaft f, wheels f f, screws H H, wheels h h., shaft J, screw-head L2, with wheels Z l', the head L, and ladder M, substantially as described and shown.

6. In a ire-escape apparatus, the combination of the pulleys T T', clutch-pulleys t t', belts T2 T3, and crank P3, operated by handpower or by steam, with the bevel-gear wheels on shafts that turn in bearings on the floor of the carriage, screws H H and L, operated by said bevel-gear wheels, and the extension-lad ders operated by said screws, substantially as described and shown.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as l my invention I have hereto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE M. KIM.

Witnesses:

NVM. M. DUNCAN, JOHN S. LAMBIE. 

